NMBU will subscribe to Keenious in 2025. Keenious is an innovative tool designed to help researchers and students discover relevant scientific literature. The tool is available free of charge to everyone at NMBU, and can be used directly in the browser or as an add-in in Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
Using artificial intelligence and advanced search algorithms, Keenious analyzes text from documents and PDFs, and recommends the most relevant articles and topics based on the content.
How does Keenious work?
Keenious uses natural language processing to analyze text from both your own documents and existing articles. The tool can analyze an entire document or a selection of the text to find related sources. It can be used on multiple platforms, including browsers and as an add-in in Microsoft Word and Google Docs.
Provides access to articles subscribed to by the University Library
By integrating Keenious with library resources, you can minimize barriers such as paywalls, and gain access to a wide range of scholarly articles, which are available to everyone at NMBU.
Benefits of using Keenious:
- Find references to specific parts of your thesis.
- Get a quick overview of available and relevant research.
- Support for interdisciplinary research.
- Help when it is difficult to find existing research on your topic.
- Get suggestions for relevant sources that may not appear in traditional database searches.
Keenious works best when you have already performed a certain literature search, read something, and written parts of your thesis. It can then be used to find additional sources that can strengthen your writing.
How can Keenious help you in your research?
- Keenious is recommended as a complementary tool together with traditional databases such as Oria and other search platforms.
- The tool can give you new search terms (topics) that can be used for further literature searches.
- It is also useful when you are in the final stages of writing, as you can analyze the almost finished text to discover any sources or perspectives you may have missed.
Language and accessibility
Keenious supports text analysis in English, but can also be used for cross-language searches using Microsoft Azure’s translation services. This allows searches to be performed in more than 100 languages, although the texts are first translated into English before analysis is performed. There are some limitations for non-English texts (maximum 20,000 characters per search), and users have access to up to 10 cross-language searches per day.
Data source
Keenious uses OpenAlex, a comprehensive database of metadata on millions of scientific articles. OpenAlex includes materials from both open and closed journals and provides access to a huge range of disciplines.
A useful addition to your research toolkit
Keenious is not intended to replace traditional literature searches, but serves as a valuable addition to discover hidden or relevant sources that may not appear in standard database searches.
Availability at NMBU
Keenious is freely available to all students and staff at NMBU, and can be used directly through the browser or as an add-in in Microsoft Word and Google Docs.